Kirkus Best Books of the Year Winners Historical Fiction

Awards List

2023

Essex Dogs

Essex Dogs (*)
Dan Jones

Sep-2022
/ Historical

The Covenant of Water

The Covenant of Water (*)
Abraham Verghese

Jan-2023
/ Literary

The End of Drum-Time

The End of Drum-Time (*)
Hanna Pylvainen

Jan-2023
/ Literary

The New Life

The New Life (*)
Tom Crewe

Jan-2023
/ General Fiction

The Sun Walks Down

The Sun Walks Down (*)
Fiona McFarlane

Feb-2023
/ Literary

The Great Reclamation

The Great Reclamation (*)
Rachel Heng

Apr-2023
/ General Fiction

Lone Women

Lone Women (*)
Victor Lavalle

Apr-2023
/ Horror

Good Night, Irene

Good Night, Irene (*)
Luis Alberto Urrea

Jun-2023
/ Historical

Loot

Loot (*)
Tania James

Jun-2023
/ Literary

Promise

Promise (*)
Rachel Eliza Griffiths

Jul-2023
/ Literary

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store (*)
James McBride

Aug-2023
/ Historical

North Woods

North Woods (*)
Daniel Mason

Sep-2023
/ Literary

The Armor of Light

The Armor of Light (*)
Ken Follett

Oct-2023
/ Historical

Let Us Descend

Let Us Descend (*)
Jesmyn Ward

Oct-2023
/ Literary

Absolution

Absolution (*)
Alice McDermott

Nov-2023
/ Literary

The Frozen River

The Frozen River (*)
Ariel Lawhon

Dec-2023
/ Historical

We Must Not Think of Ourselves

We Must Not Think of Ourselves (*)
Lauren Grodstein

Dec-2023
/ Historical

2022

Afterlives

Afterlives (*)
Abdulrazak Gurnah

Sep-2020
/ Historical

The Books of Jacob

The Books of Jacob (*)
Olga Tokarczuk

Mar-2021
/ General Fiction

Yonder

Yonder (*)
Jabari Asim

Jan-2022
/ Historical

Pollak's Arm

Pollak's Arm (*)
Hans von Trotha

Feb-2022
/ General Fiction

Trust

Trust (*)
Hernan Diaz

May-2022
/ Historical

The Book of Goose

The Book of Goose (*)
Yiyun Li

Sep-2022
/ Literary

Shrines of Gaiety

Shrines of Gaiety (*)
Kate Atkinson

Oct-2022
/ Literary

2021

The Rib King

The Rib King (*)
Ladee Hubbard

Jan-2021
/ Literary

Zorrie

Zorrie (*)
Laird Hunt

Feb-2021
/ Women's Fiction

Great Circle

Great Circle (*)
Maggie Shipstead

May-2021
/ Literary

Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch

Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch (*)
Rivka Galchen

Jun-2021
/ Literary

The Great Mistake

The Great Mistake (*)
Jonathan Lee

Jun-2021
/ Historical

Harlem Shuffle

Harlem Shuffle (*)
Colson Whitehead

Sep-2021
/ Literary

Matrix

Matrix (*)
Lauren Groff

Sep-2021
/ Women's Fiction

Palmares

Palmares (*)
Gayl Jones

Sep-2021
/ Literary

The Lincoln Highway

The Lincoln Highway (*)
Amor Towles

Oct-2021
/ Literary

2020

The Mirror & the Light

The Mirror & the Light (*)
Hilary Mantel

Mar-2020
/ Literary

The Night Watchman

The Night Watchman (*)
Louise Erdrich

Mar-2020
/ Literary

How Much of These Hills Is Gold

How Much of These Hills Is Gold (*)
C. Pam Zhang

Apr-2020
/ Literary

The King of Warsaw

The King of Warsaw (*)
Szczepan Twardoch

Apr-2020
/ Literary

Man of My Time

Man of My Time (*)
Dalia Sofer

Apr-2020
/ Literary

The Lehman Trilogy

The Lehman Trilogy (*)
Stefano Massini

Jun-2020
/ Literary

Hamnet

Hamnet (*)
Maggie O'Farrell

Jul-2020
/ Literary

The Pull of the Stars

The Pull of the Stars (*)
Emma Donoghue

Jul-2020
/ Historical

Utopia Avenue

Utopia Avenue (*)
David Mitchell

Jul-2020
/ Literary

Black Bottom Saints

Black Bottom Saints (*)
Alice Randall

Aug-2020
/ Historical

The Exiles

The Exiles (*)
Christina Baker Kline

Sep-2020
/ Historical

The Cold Millions

The Cold Millions (*)
Jess Walter

Nov-2020
/ Historical

Award Categories

Affirming Picture Books

Beginning Readers

Book Club Fiction

Books for Beginning Readers

Empowering Picture Books

Environmental Fiction

Fiction in Translation

Fictional Families

Fictional Voices

Funniest Picture Books

Historical Fiction

Informational Picture Books

Joyous Picture Books

Middle-Grade About Speaking Up

Middle-Grade Activist

Middle-Grade Adventures

Middle-Grade Family Stories

Middle-Grade Fantasy and SF

Middle-Grade Fiction

Middle-Grade Friendship Stories

Middle-Grade Graphic Fiction

Award Years